Osteoarthritis of the hip joint is the general name for a group of diseases, which includes all diseases of the degenerative system of the hip joint, which destroy cartilage tissue, is progressive in nature. This disease has another name - coxarthrosis. The disease is characterized by pain in the above area, which is difficult to treat and diagnose.
Causes and mechanism of development of osteoarthritis of the hip
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint is divided into primary and secondary. Primary is a disease that has developed independently, regardless of other factors, for example as a side effect of the natural aging process. Secondary osteoarthritis is the result of a complication of a disease of a different nature.
With a healthy pelvis, the distance between the femoral head and the acetabulum is clearly visible on the x-ray. This indicates the optimal condition of the cartilage that covers the thigh, being at the same time a sign of the absence of arthrosis. If the distance is not evident, the cartilage has been damaged, which means that there is every reason to assume the presence of the disease described above. This form of arthrosis is not genetic, that is, as a rule, it is not inherited. However, factors such as cartilage weakness, bone fragility, metabolic disorders can be passed on from generation to generation and can trigger the development of osteoarthritis.
However, the main causes of this disease are various diseases of an infectious and traumatological nature. For example:
- Hip dislocation, hip dysplasia are congenital diseases most often diagnosed in early childhood by ultrasound diagnostics. It is very important to identify this pathology, which is present in ten percent of newborns, as soon as possible, because the correction of dysplasia is possible only in the first two years of a child's life.
- Infectious and chronic inflammatory diseases such as tuberculosis of the hip joint. This disease is especially dangerous due to the very difficult diagnosis. Often the symptoms are so mild that they are mistaken for another disease. Even an x-ray sometimes helps to identify tuberculosis only at an advanced stage, when complete recovery is no longer possible. All this is aggravated by the fact that the country lacks narrow specialists who can correctly diagnose and treat this disease.
- Metabolic and thyroid disorders, such as diabetes mellitus.
- Perthes disease, which most often affects boys. With this disease, the head of the femur suffers, its blood circulation is disturbed, as a result of which the cartilage tissue suffers.
- Various mechanical injuries, such as injuries and dislocations of the hip joint.
Symptoms
Osteoarthritis is an extremely dangerous disease, since at first it can be completely asymptomatic. Often, just by chance, an x-ray examination reveals the presence of this ailment in a patient who has not found a single sign in himself.
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint can be first, second or third degree, depending on the severity of the disease. Osteoarthritis of the first degree is characterized by pain only during physical exertion, for example, when walking, and only the joint itself hurts. On x-ray, the distance between the femoral head and the socket is approximately half the normal distance. With a second degree disease, the pain intensifies, radiates to the groin and may be present even at rest, lameness may appear. The third degree is the most severe, when the patient cannot move independently without aids, the pain is permanent. A person is forced to bend over to one side when he walks due to the shortening of the leg.
Diagnostics
During the diagnosis, it is important to take a correct medical history. In this case, first of all, attention is drawn to the nature and duration of the pain, the location of the painful points, the atrophy of the muscles and nerve endings, the characteristics of the patient's gait and the state of blood circulation in the extremities.
With all this, the radiographic examination is decisive in the diagnosis of osteoarthritis of the hip joint, however, further examinations may be necessary, such as: MRI of the thigh, puncture from the painful area, tomography of the extremities, ultrasound examination.
Treatment of the disease
First of all, in the treatment of arthrosis, it is necessary to remove the pain, or at least reduce it to a level tolerable by the patient. For this, NSAIDs are used, which not only fight pain, but also relieve inflammation.
Then drugs are prescribed that provide nutrition to the cartilage tissue, which are able to restore it, but only in the early stages of the disease. If necessary, hormonal injections are also prescribed. However, only a doctor can prescribe all the above drugs!
There is the use of physiotherapy (although many experts consider such treatment a waste of time). This is a special massage, laser treatment, manual therapy, physiotherapy exercises. However, these procedures take a long time, as well as the patient's funds, while not the definitive method of treatment.
However, with 3rd degree osteoarthritis, doctors usually insist on surgery, replacing the destroyed joint with a prosthesis.
Folk methods of dealing with osteoarthritis
Even traditional medicine does not escape the treatment of a serious disease. For these purposes, various ointments and compresses prepared from birch leaves, burdock, cabbage are used. They are pounded into gruel and then tied to the site of the pain.
A mixture of honey, alcohol, iodine and glycerin is used as compresses. Traditional medicine confirms the effectiveness of baths with nettle decoction. In addition, bee sting treatment has become very popular for getting rid of the disease. Tincture of honey, carrots, beets, radishes and aloe juice should be poured with vodka and infused for a week, after which the tincture can be drunk once a day, 20 grams each.
Prevention of coxarthrosis
As a rule, preventive measures include strict weight control (since excess weight puts a lot of stress on the hip joints), the correct distribution of physical activity so as not to overload the joints, and timely, at the slightest suspicion , contact with a specialist.
Osteoarthritis of the hip joint is an extremely unpleasant and serious disease that threatens with serious complications, but timely consultation with a qualified doctor will help to avoid the terrible consequences of the disease.